Book of Common Prayer
97 O, how I love Your Law! It is what I think about all through the day. 98 Your Word makes me wiser than those who hate me, for it is always with me. 99 I have better understanding than all my teachers because I think about Your Law. 100 I have a better understanding than those who are old because I obey Your Word. 101 I have kept my feet from every sinful way so that I may keep Your Word. 102 I have not turned away from Your Law, for You Yourself have taught me. 103 How sweet is Your Word to my taste! It is sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 I get understanding from Your Law and so I hate every false way.
105 Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 106 I have promised that I will keep Your Law. And I will add strength to this promise. 107 I am in much suffering. O Lord, give me life again by Your Word. 108 Take my willing gift of thanks, O Lord, and teach me Your Law. 109 My life is always in my hand, yet I do not forget Your Law. 110 The sinful have set a trap for me, yet I have not turned from Your Law. 111 I have been given Your Law forever. It is the joy of my heart. 112 I have set my heart on obeying Your Law forever, even to the end.
113 I hate those who have two ways of thinking, but I love Your Law. 114 You are my hiding place and my battle-covering. I put my hope in Your Word. 115 Go away from me, you who do wrong, so I may keep the Word of my God. 116 Hold me up by Your Word and I will live. Do not let me be ashamed of my hope. 117 Hold me up so I will be safe, and I will always have respect for Your Law. 118 You turn away from all those who turn from Your Law. They fool themselves with their own lying. 119 You put away like waste all the sinful of the earth, so I love Your Law. 120 My flesh shakes in fear of You, and I am afraid of how You may punish.
A Song to God’s Care
81 Sing for joy to God our strength! Call out for joy to the God of Jacob! 2 Sing a song, beat the timbrel. Play the sweet-sounding harps. 3 Blow the horn at the new moon, at the full moon on the day of our special supper. 4 For this is a Law for Israel, a Law of the God of Jacob. 5 He made it a Law for Joseph, when he went through the land of Egypt. I heard a language that I did not know:
6 “I took the load off his shoulders. His hands were set free from the basket. 7 You called in your trouble, and I took you out of it. I answered you in the hiding place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah. 8 Hear, O My people, and I will tell you what to do. O Israel, if you would listen to Me! 9 Let there be no strange god among you. Do not worship any false god. 10 I, the Lord, am your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
11 “But My people did not listen to My voice. And Israel did not obey Me. 12 So I let them follow the desires of their sinful hearts. They followed their own plans. 13 If only My people would listen to Me! If only Israel would follow My ways! 14 I would hurry to crush those who fight against them. I would turn My hand against those who hate them. 15 Those who hate the Lord would pretend to obey Him. And their punishment would last forever. 16 But I would feed you with the best of grain. And I would fill you with honey from the rock.”
God’s Rule
82 God takes His stand in the great meeting of His people. He judges among the rulers. 2 How long will you rulers be wrong in how you judge? How long will you show favor to the sinful? 3 Do the right thing for the weak and those without a father. Stand up for the rights of those who are suffering and in need. 4 Save the weak and those in need. Set them free from the hand of the sinful.
5 They know nothing; they understand nothing. They walk around in the dark. All that the earth is built upon is shaking. 6 I said, “You are gods. You are all sons of the Most High. 7 But you will die like men, and fall like one of the princes.”
8 Rise up, O God! Say who is guilty or not guilty upon the earth! For all the nations belong to You.
A Call to Turn from Sin
12 “Yet even now,” says the Lord, “return to Me with all your heart, crying in sorrow and eating no food. 13 Tear your heart and not your clothes.” Return to the Lord your God, for He is full of loving-kindness and loving-pity. He is slow to anger, full of love, and ready to keep His punishment from you. 14 It may be that He will turn and have pity, and leave good behind for you. He may leave you a grain gift and a drink gift for the Lord your God. 15 Blow a horn in Zion. Set apart a time when no food will be eaten. Call together a holy meeting. 16 Gather the people and make them holy. Gather together the leaders, the children, and the nursing babies. Let the man to be married come out of his room, and the bride come out of her room. 17 Let the religious leaders who serve the Lord cry between the porch and the altar. Let them say, “Have pity on Your people, O Lord. Do not put your people to shame. And do not make the nations speak against them. Why should the people of the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’”
The Lord Gives Food Again
18 Then the Lord will be jealous for His land and have pity on His people. 19 The Lord will say to His people, “I am going to send you grain, new wine, and oil, and you will be filled with them. I will never again put you to shame among the nations.
The King of Kings on the White Horse
11 Then I saw heaven opened. A white horse was standing there. The One Who was sitting on the horse is called Faithful and True. He is the One Who punishes in the right way. He makes war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire. He has many crowns on His head. His name is written on Him but He is the only One Who knows what it says. 13 The coat He wears has been put in blood. His name is The Word of God. 14 The armies in heaven were dressed in clean, white, fine linen. They were following Him on white horses. 15 Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword to punish the nations. He will be the Leader over them using a piece of iron. He walks on the grapes where wine is made, pressing out the anger of God, the All-powerful One. 16 On His coat and on His leg is the name written, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out with a loud voice to all the birds flying in the sky, “Come and gather together for the great supper of God! 18 Come and eat the flesh of kings and of captains of soldiers and of strong men and of the flesh of horses and of those sitting on them. Come and eat the flesh of all men, small and great. Some are free and some are not free.”
19 Then I saw the wild animal and the kings of the earth and their armies gather together. They were ready to fight against the One Who is sitting on the white horse and against His army. 20 The wild animal was taken. The false preacher was taken with it. It was the false preacher who had done powerful works in front of the wild animal. In this way, he fooled those who had received the mark of the wild animal and those who worshiped his false god. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. 21 The rest were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the One Who sat on the horse. All the birds were filled by eating the flesh of these who were killed.
The Picture-Story of the Lost Sheep
15 All the tax-gatherers and sinners were coming to hear Jesus. 2 The proud religious law-keepers and the teachers of the Law began to speak against Him. They said, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3 Then Jesus told them a picture-story, saying, 4 “What if one of you had one hundred sheep and you lost one of them? Would you not leave the ninety-nine in the country and go back and look for the one which was lost until you find it? 5 When you find it, you are happy as you carry it back on your shoulders. 6 Then you would go to your house and call your friends and neighbors. You would say to them, ‘Be happy with me because I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven because of one sinner who is sorry for his sins and turns from them, than for ninety-nine people right with God who do not have sins to be sorry for.
The Picture-Story of the Lost Piece of Money
8 “What if a woman has ten silver pieces of money and loses one of them? Does she not light a lamp and sweep the floor and look until she finds it? 9 When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together. She says to them, ‘Be happy with me. I have found the piece of money I had lost.’ 10 I tell you, it is the same way among the angels of God. If one sinner is sorry for his sins and turns from them, the angels are very happy.”
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.